Chapter 626: Chapter 626

If the rumors were true, then this person had remained in the world with the body of an insect gu, yet wielded power on par with the Spiritual Infant Realm!

When Qin Sang read this account recorded in the jade slip, he found it deeply disturbing. It could rival the madness of Wu Shang, who had willingly refined himself into a living corpse in order to form a core.

The difference was that Wu Shang had failed.

But the cultivator surnamed Fang, mentioned in the rumors, had succeeded. He had fused completely with his life-bound insect gu and transformed into an insect.

The rumor wasn’t very old. If this person truly existed, he might still be alive today.

Qin Sang was intrigued and decided that once he left Xijiang, he would make inquiries to see if such a ruthless cultivator really existed.

Life-bound insect gu brought many benefits. Not only could they aid in breaking through bottlenecks, but if they could undergo metamorphosis in tandem with their master’s cultivation, they could even surpass the power of a life-bound astra. During combat, they acted autonomously, essentially allowing the cultivator to fight with a second self.

Not to mention, many spiritual insects were born with strange talents and supernatural abilities.

Of course, all of this hinged on the key condition that the life-bound insect gu could metamorphose in time to keep pace with its master.

But the process of metamorphosis for spiritual insects was extremely difficult, even harder than a cultivator’s own breakthrough.

Refining a spiritual insect into a life-bound insect gu allowed one to nourish it with blood and essence, and to assist its metamorphosis through specialized insect-taming arts, but the difficulty remained high.

Just like how many human cultivators, after forming their core, had to rely on talisman astras as placeholders, and often spent decades or even centuries scouring for spiritual materials to refine their life-bound astra.

Many witch cultivators, after forming their core, would find their life-bound insect gu still trapped at its second metamorphosis. They too had to search far and wide for spiritual items and pills to assist the metamorphosis.

If one could find a suitable life-bound insect gu, and also possessed precise knowledge of what materials would aid its metamorphosis, the process would become much more efficient.

This was the core of the insect-controlling arts passed down by the major powers of the witch race.

The criteria used to rank insects on the Witch Insect Register also revolved around this.

The bloodline potential of a spiritual insect was only one part of the equation.

The witch cultivators created the Witch Insect Register as a practical guide for their fellow cultivators. The top-ranking insects on the list did not necessarily have the highest potential.

At the very least, an insect needed to have the potential for a second metamorphosis to be eligible for the list.

Third metamorphosis potential was ideal. Beyond that, the impact on rankings diminished.

Other key factors included a spiritual insect’s combat strength during the first three metamorphosis stages, and the difficulty of undergoing the second and third metamorphoses, especially the third.

These were the most important considerations that determined an insect’s ranking on the Witch Insect Register.

There were rare spiritual insects with potential for five or even six metamorphoses, revered by Yuling Sect as supernatural insects. However, on the Witch Insect Register, they were ranked very low.

Firstly, such insects were weak during the early stages, and their supernatural abilities unimpressive, making them ineffective in combat.

Secondly, the difficulty of their metamorphosis was astronomical, far surpassing even that of a cultivator’s own breakthrough.

Using such spiritual insects as life-bound gu would only mislead disciples down the wrong path.

Take the Ghost-Headed Wasp, for example. In its first metamorphosis, its individual combat power was unimpressive. It only became terrifying when swarming in numbers.

However, after undergoing its second and third metamorphoses, its combat prowess would leap forward by an order of magnitude. Because of this, even though its metamorphosis was difficult, the Ghost-Headed Wasp still managed to rank within the top five hundred.

Of course, the ranking on the Witch Insect Register was one thing; whether one could actually find such insects was another matter entirely.

Qin Sang took out both the Witch Insect Register and the Supernatural Insect Register.

He believed that before the Core Formation Realm, selecting a life-bound insect gu based on the Witch Insect Register would be the safest bet. But now that he had already formed his core, it would be best to also consider the Supernatural Insect Register, and choose an insect gu that balanced both combat power and long-term potential.

That was what made the Supernatural Insect Register so valuable. The metamorphosis methods recorded for the rare insects on the list could even help them reach a fourth or fifth metamorphosis. The methods were extremely detailed. Unfortunately, even the most capable cook could not prepare a meal without ingredients.

This version of the Witch Insect Register was a commonly used compilation circulated among the witch race.

There were five spiritual insects on the list for which the Five-Insect Sect had developed unique insect-taming techniques. These techniques formed the core of their sect’s true teachings. It was only after Qin Sang swore never to reveal them that Cui Xuanzi was willing to hand them over.

No doubt the major powers of the witch race possessed similar secret arts that were closely guarded and never passed to outsiders.

Qin Sang wondered whether the insect-taming techniques of these major powers might be even more complete and detailed than what was contained in his Supernatural Insect Register.

The insect-taming techniques were incredibly intricate. It took Qin Sang a very long time to read through everything from start to finish.

After reading through all this information, Qin Sang made up his mind. He would choose a suitable spiritual insect and refine it into his life-bound insect gu to take the place of a life-bound astra.

There were many reasons behind his decision.

Human cultivators typically avoided this path out of fear that the life-bound insect gu might one day turn on them. But Qin Sang had the Jade Buddha, which allowed him to completely eliminate that hidden risk.

In fact, even the witch race cultivators couldn’t compare to him in this regard.

When the time came, Qin Sang would be able to push his life-bound insect gu to undergo a fourth metamorphosis without the slightest hesitation.

Back in the Fake Core Realm, he had easily controlled the flying yaksha. Even Yi Tianye, despite all his cunning, had failed to erase Qin Sang’s soul imprint thanks to the Jade Buddha.

Upon learning that the life-bound insect gu could help break through bottlenecks, Qin Sang was instantly captivated.

Reflecting on his own cultivation journey, he could already foresee how difficult forming a Spiritual Infant would be for him in the future.

Whether a single Du’e Pill could truly help him form a Spiritual Infant was something Qin Sang wasn’t confident about at all.

Even the faintest opportunity was something he had to seize tightly. Had he not possessed the Jade Buddha to suppress the dangers, Qin Sang would still have found a way to refine a life-bound insect gu.

But now that there was no need to worry about future backlash, there was no reason to miss this opportunity.

Moreover, the information obtained by Yuling Sect from ancient texts—especially the ancient cultivators’ methods of raising spiritual insects—and the Crimson Fire Gilded Gold in his possession further reinforced Qin Sang’s resolve to pursue this path.

The Scarlet Gold Vine absorbed the essence of worldly metallic fire qi and bore fruit known as unrefined Crimson Fire Gilded Gold.

Ordinarily, it could be used for artifact refinement.

One of Yuling Sect’s elders had once acquired an ancient beast-taming manual from an ancient relic.

It recorded that if the fruit of the Scarlet Gold Vine was not smelted, and only the pulp extracted and fed to spiritual insects, it had a certain chance of helping the insect break through!

Back in the ancient cultivator’s estate, Qin Sang had witnessed with his own eyes how Di Que fed Crimson Fire Gilded Gold to the Fire Jade Centipede, and the centipedes immediately began showing signs of metamorphosis.

After obtaining the Crimson Fire Gilded Gold, Qin Sang had been focused on advancing his cultivation and restoring his damaged foundation, never finding the time or energy to delve into the path of insect taming.

By chance, he had encountered a Ghost-Headed Wasp, which had already mutated but lost its ability to continue advancing or undergoing metamorphosis.

As a result, the Crimson Fire Gilded Gold had been lying unused in his Mustard Seed Pouch all this time. It had become a treasure wasted in obscurity.

But now, the Crimson Fire Gilded Gold would finally serve its purpose.

Although Qin Sang only had a single Scarlet Gold Vine fruit, a cultivator could have only one life-bound insect gu, and using it to sustain the insect through three metamorphoses would not be difficult. In fact, there would likely be some left over.

For Qin Sang, nurturing a life-bound insect gu to its third metamorphosis was a very real possibility. Then, he could spend a few hundred years preparing spiritual medicines to assist in its fourth metamorphosis. This was a far better plan than aimless cultivation. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel·fire·net

Since having his aptitude enhanced by the killing symbol, Qin Sang’s cultivation speed, though not enough to break through major realms, had reached the upper-mid tier. He now had the capacity to divide his focus and manage both paths.

However, none of these reasons were what initially prompted Qin Sang to choose the path of the life-bound insect gu.